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b.t. mcelrath’s oldies but goodies

I have previously shown greatlove for B.T. McElrath Chocolatier, my hometown heroic purveyor of chocolatey goodness. Did you know their factory is located mere blocks from where I used to live? It’s fate, I have decided. Fate that I am destined to enjoy these amazing B.T. creations for years to come. I have no problem accepting this responsibility.

And while I’ve enjoyed the B.T. bars that I’ve mowed down on, I haven’t been privileged enough to sample from their truffle selection (until now). Having given my mom some tasty-looking B.T. truffles for Mother’s Day, I was very happy to present her with them…. but embarrassingly jealous that I didn’t get to try any. Is it okay to be jealous of a gift given selflessly to your mom? My moral compass says no.

Still, ever the wonderful woman that she is, took upon herself the great burden of visiting B.T. McElrath’s factory in Minneapolis for their 7th Annual Chocolate Sale, held near the end of May. I figured that someone should enjoy the seasonal close-outs, overruns, and items created especially for the sale, even if that someone wasn’t me. But wait!! It was.

For I recently received a package containing a somewhat strangely-colored Passion Fruit & Tangerine Bar, as well as two lovely boxes of truffles.

The first box, which had sadly bloomed and made for less-than-stellar photos, contained five stellar Caramelized Coconut Pavé. Each pavé contained creamy coconutty goodness, with a smattering of caramel, all enclosed in a lovely shell of 70% dark chocolate. A dash of coconut across the top of each truffle sets the tone for what is to be enjoyed once bitten into. The outer chocolate shell is rather thick, but the coconut filling shines through – and as the chocolate melts on the palate, I am left to admire the filling’s coconut texture.

I am by no means a truffle connoisseur (although perhaps I am now motivated to become one), but I found this to be delightful. I enjoyed it even more when it had been refrigerated for some time, as the thick chocolate shell became snappingly good, giving way to the still creamy interior.

The second, and woefully beautiful truffle [it has been known to cause ennui when no truffles remain], known as the B.T. Berry Poinsettia, did not come in its own box, leaving me with few clues to decipher its mélange of delightful layers. Phew, this paragraph is getting a bit heavy on the French words. C’est lourd, ce paragraphe.

Searching the interwebs, I was lucky enough to find what these cute gems are made of. From The Nibble, you and I now know that the inside features red raspberry and black current purées combined with white chocolate ganache, while the outer layers feature both white and dark chocolate. Newsflash: I just learned that the word is poinsettia, not pointsettia. I almost had to turn in my third-grade spelling champion mentality, there.

And wow, these truffles deliver. I wouldn’t have known what they were made of if I hadn’t looked them up, but they are so smooth and buttery, and full of flavor. Perhaps if I drank more Kir Royales (back to the French theme, eh?) I would better recognize the cassis-flavored ganache.

The dark chocolate layer on the bottom of the truffle persists a wee bit longer than the other components, but I would expect that, due to the higher proportion of cocoa butter in the white chocolate shell and ganache. Know what else I learned from The Nibble? White chocolate is normally “deodorized” t0 remove its undesirable, strong taste. Eew. No wonder white chocolate normally creeps me out.

I will admit that B.T. McElrath does a great job, in all of their products, of incorporating white and dark chocolate in tandem, and making the end products taste great.

I found a great taste tester in my boyfriend, who sampled two of the ten total truffles when we opened the boxes up last weekend. Unfortunately, the eight of the other ten truffles have now vanished mysteriously into my stomach. Sorry dear!

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15 thoughts on “b.t. mcelrath’s oldies but goodies”

Zounds!
These look *fabulous*…I really like the way the poinsettia chocolates look (and sound); very beautiful! Also, I’m a sucker for chocolate + coconut, so those first truffles sound divine. I think I’ll be looking up BT McElrath sometime soon. ^_^

Mary: Zzzounds! I love the appearance of those poinsettias too. And sheesh, I just had to correct myself again on the spelling of poinsettia! Luckily for us and our aesthetic needs, B.T. McElrath likes to reuse their chocolate molds, so the Blood Orange Blossoms they’re currently featuring are shaped the same as the poinsettias. Cunning, and pretty;)

After an unsure start, I too am now a sucker for the coconut / chocolate combo. Definitely look up B.T. McElrath, if only to try their amazing chocolate bars!

Oh, God. Just as I was starting to understand the world of chocolate bars, you write about TRUFFLES?!?! Yum. I felt all educated when you mentioned bloom because I just read about what that is on Fearless Chocolate’s website yesterday. But then you wrote about truffles. They look really good; I’m glad you enjoyed them!

Oh, it’s my truffle-less boyfriend! How kind of you to come rabble rabble along with me;) And…. what’s that? Ich habe, you say? Ich habe…. nichts? Ich habe… keine Schokolade? Hey, do you think it’s good luck that my last name and ‘chocolate’ in German start with the same first three letters? Chocolate sheriff?

Brianne: Haha! I love your comment. I almost felt too intimidated to write about these, given that I lacked all information on one truffle, the other was bloomed (which educated people talk about, ya know), and the first again was so beautiful I wasn’t sure I could capture its truffle glory. But ooh they were good, as I think rabble rabble above you would attest to. Keep at the chocolate exploration!

I’ve never really cared for truffles, tending to find that the all taste the same (and usually banal-sweet the same). However, Caramelized Coconut Pavé and Peanut Butter Pavé? Those are truffles that I’d create a stampede for!